Olivia Dean Covers ELLE’s ‘Women in Music’ Issue, Talks Grammys Win, Navigating Fame and More

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British singer Olivia Dean covers ELLE’s 2026 Women in Music Issue, on newsstands April 7. Fresh off the breakout success of her latest album, The Art of Loving, Dean discusses the surreal moment she won her first-ever Grammy for Best New Artist and finding her own way forward as she navigates this newfound level of fame: “My heart is extremely full in a way that is kind of hard to even describe,” she says before pausing to search for language that feels proportionate. “I did not think that was going to happen. I can’t lie to you. I’ve never won an award for music before.”

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On locking eyes with her idols, including Lauryn Hill, while accepting her first Grammy: “I need to try and explain this properly, so you can truly wrap your head around it,” she says. “There I am standing at the Grammys. I’m looking at Lauryn Hill, and she is doing this amazing D’Angelo tribute. She’s in my eyeline. I believe I’m in hers. I don’t think she was checking for me, but I was checking her. She won Best New Artist the year I was born, my middle name is Lauryn after her.…It was all the most serendipitous full-circle moment. I was just at home in London a couple of weeks ago on my sofa. Then suddenly I’m holding a Grammy, and Queen Latifah’s looking at me.”

On pushing back against ticket resellers and making her shows accessible: It’s a problem many popular musical acts have faced, but Dean was one of the few to demand a fix from Ticketmaster, which eventually refunded fans who were overcharged by resellers and agreed to cap prices moving forward. “There is no way that I’m going to get up on that stage and sing my heart out while somebody sits at home and makes $500, $600 off of me and you,” she says. “I want people to be able to afford to come to the show. I don’t think you need to be someone who’s got loads of money to enjoy your favorite album. Full stop.”

On describing her brand of feminist romance as the kind that empowers women to do what’s best for them, while lovingly encouraging men to rise to the occasion and unexpected success of her single, ‘Man I Need’: “‘Man I Need’ is a call to action,” Dean explains. “It’s like, ‘I know you can be the man I need if you step up to the plate and be excellent for me. Let me encourage you.’” But she had no idea the hit single would resonate with as many people as it did. “I knew that I’d made something that I was really proud of, but I also know that doesn’t necessarily translate into success,” she says. “There is so much amazing music out there that doesn’t get heard in the same way, but for some reason, people said, ‘Yeah, we like you, Sis.’ And I’ve said, ‘Thank you. Me too.’”

On deleting all social media apps following her Grammy win: “I’ve been thinking about doing it for a while,” she says. “Even though the love has been overwhelming, even that is not healthy sometimes. I don’t think you’re supposed to know everyone’s opinion about you. And I’ve decided I want to live in sweet ignorance.”

On tuning out of the online discourse: “I find a lot of internet discourse and those things so unproductive. I know who I am, and I know that I’m performing and creating from a pure place. You can’t please everybody. And I have such peace in that.”

On choosing joy and challenging expectations onstage: Dean’s playful spirit comes through most clearly onstage. Watching a young Black woman move throughout the world with such freedom, softness, and unburdened optimism feels comforting and, in its own way, radical. “I feel like sometimes it’s my responsibility to show that we can be that,” she says. “My joy is more powerful than whatever you think about me or how I should be presenting. I’ll always choose joy. I want to be happy. This job is too amazing for me not to enjoy it. That would be such a kicker if I’d worked this hard and then realized that I wasn’t enjoying it. I’ve got to have as much fun as possible.”

On the emotional perspective behind The Art of Loving: The album moves through 12 tracks in just 34 minutes, traversing effortlessly across genres like R&B, pop, neo-soul, and beyond. “That’s where I’m at,” Dean says of the album’s healthy, nuanced perspective on love. “I’ve been in therapy for a long time. It has allowed me to have self-awareness and understand that I really don’t have time to fester in negative emotions toward love and men. It doesn’t serve me. I can be annoyed and hurt, but I try to find perspective and compassion. Reading a lot of bell hooks has also given me that.”

On finding acceptance while attending the BRIT School: “It allowed me to free myself from feeling embarrassed about who I was,” she explains. “It was so validating to be surrounded by people who thought music was cool, and wanting to shine was cool. Whereas in my previous school, people would make me feel like I was too much. And it’s like, ‘No, I’m doing too much for you. I’m actually not doing enough yet. I haven’t even gotten started.’”

She’s hesitant to say she was bullied at earlier schools (“I think I put it in a box and was like, ‘No, I wasn’t’”), but she admits to finding female friendships quite hard growing up until she met her best friends at BRIT, the closest of whom is still her roommate to this day. “We met on the first day of BRIT, and I was like, ‘Girl, I’ve been eating my lunch in the toilet. Do you want to be friends?’” she recalls.

Photographer: Felix Cooper
Stylist: Alex White
Writer: Sylvia Bell
Hair: Sophie Jane Anderson
Makeup: Celia Burton
Manicure: Ella Vivii

[Photo Credit: Felix Cooper for ELLE Magazine]

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